Worth the Cost?
by SPT
Summary: Jayne performs a good deed and has to wonder if its worth the cost.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own or have any rights to Firefly or it's characters. This is just for fun.**

**Rating: T for voilence and swearing**

**Summary: After doing a good deed, Jayne has to wonder if its worth the cost. Takes place after "Objects in Space". This is my first Firefly fic, please read and review but please be constructive. The next chapter will be up very soon.**

"Liou coe shway duh biao-tze huh hoe-tze fuh ur-tze, go tsao de hwoon dahn, Ching-wah tsao duh liou mahng!"

Zoe winced at the Chinese expletive's filtering through the closed bunk door; the Captain sure had a bee in his bonnet about something, or from the sounds of things, someone. She shot Wash a questioning look as the derogatory rants continued, but his only reply was a confused shrug. Pulling on her boots, Zoe resigned herself to facing Mal; never a pretty picture when he was in this kind of a mood.

She poked her head onto the bridge to find the Captain stomping back and forth behind the pilot's chair; "sir?"

Mal glanced up at her but didn't stop pacing, "I just got a wave from our friendly neighborhood sheriff. Seems that bun tyen-shung duh ee-dway-ro of a mercenary of ours went and got himself pinched yesterday afternoon."

Zoe dropped her head; yes, that would explain Mal's rant and the enraged fire currently burning in his eyes. Leave it to Jayne to do something stupid- like getting tossed into jail- on the day of a big job. "What'd he do this time, sir?"

"Sheriff didn't say, just that we needed to bring bail money if we wanted him back. Grab your gear, we'll go get him and get the hell off this gorram planet seeing as how we can't do the job now."

Apparently Zoe and Wash weren't the only ones to be woken by Mal's tirade; Kaylee popped her head out of her bunk as he stomped past. "Something goin' on Captain," she questioned him; not happy about being woke in such a manner, especially when it interrupted such a delectable dream about a certain core-bred doctor.

Too caught up in his own fury, Mal barely looked at her as he strode past. "Get the mule ready; Zoe and I gotta go bail Jayne outta jail. Should just leave the useless hundan there to rot." The obscenities continued until he was out of sight.

Kaylee and Zoe exchanged a pointed look, both glad to be anyone in the 'verse _but_ Jayne Cobb right now.

_Translations:_

_Liou__coe__shway__ duh __biao-tze__ huh hoe-__tze__fuh__ur-tze:_ Son of a drooling whore and a monkey

_go__tsao__ de __hwoon__dahn_: Dog humping son of a bitch

_Ching-wah__tsao__ duh __liou__mahng_: Frog-riding bastard

_bun __tyen-shung__ duh __ee-dway-ro: _Stupid, inbred sack of meat


	2. Chapter 2

**EIGHTEEN HOURS EARLIER**

Serenity's mercenary inhaled deeply, letting the fragrant smoke from his cigar mingle with perfume of the buxom redhead perched on his lap.

Lacy'd planted herself there nearly an hour ago after the large man had sent several heated looks her way; he was a good looking man and she knew one of the other girls would immediately descend upon him were she to vacate her position. She watched the sunlight dance off his laughing eyes as he observed the group at the outdoor table next to them. The blue orbs switched to her face when she stole the beer out of his hand to take a swig of the amber liquid herself; a playful growl had her returning the glass with a guilty pout.

Jayne gave the woman a genuine smile, "thirsty there girly?"

Lacy nuzzled into his neck and slipped he hand up beneath the soft material of his t-shirt in reply. She allowed herself a triumpant smile when he signaled to the barmaid for two more drinks. Yup, she still had it.

Jayne's brain stuttered to a halt; damn, this was going to be a _very_ good night if this was any indication of things to come. Thankfully the job they were here to do wasn't going down until tomorrow night, therefore he had the entire night to spend in Lacy's bed, and he had _no_ intention of sleeping.

They'd been in the black for three weeks solid before making this landfall, and Jayne wasn't about to waste it; a lot of beer and a good whore had been the only things on his mind when he'd hightailed it off the ship earlier this afternoon. He knew Mal had wanted him to keep an eye on the Doc and his sister, but thankfully all three of them arguing vehemently that they didn't need a babysitter had swayed the Captain's mind.

The afternoon sun grew hot and both downed their beers quickly while enjoying the breeze on the open deck. They sat in silence mostly, neither in a hurry to move things up to the bedroom.

Jayne allowed himself to relax a bit, he'd never been on this world before so there was very little chance of anyone recognizing him and while the planet was apparently Alliance friendly, the governing body had no direct presence here. However, one eye continually scanned the bar and the street for any sign of a commotion. That's how he picked up on the two Sherriff's deputies in the middle of the street getting awfully excited over something on their hand-held cortex.

Lacy followed his gaze, "wonder what has them two in such a tizzy."

Jayne shook his head in an 'I don't know' gesture as he took another large swallow of his fifth beer, but he sat up a little straighter when one animatedly pointed at something just out of his line of sight. The other deputy still looked unconvinced, but Jayne could see that he was starting to come around to whatever the other man was trying to prove to him. Jayne shifted Lacy in his lap, trying to get a better look at what the first deputy had been pointing at.

He jumped to his feet so quickly that Lacy went tumbling off his lap, barely feeling his strong arms wrap around her before she hit the rough wooden planks of the floor. She gave an annoyed huff when he pulled her back up to his side, but quieted at the apprehensive look in his eyes.

"Lacy girl, I gotta go." He dipped her quickly and gave her a deep kiss before shoving some coin into her hand and dropping more onto the table, "but I promise you, it would have been great."

Of that, Lacy had no doubt. Her eyes lingered on his broad back and finely sculpted ass as he swiftly made his way to the street; something had him nervous. She glanced down at her hand then, her eyes widening at the amount of coin there; he'd paid her for the whole night.

Mal was going to kill him; there was no way around it, especially after he'd screwed up so spectacularly on Ariel. Somehow Mal would find a way to pin this squarely on his shoulders; he always did when things went wrong. The only question that remained was whether or not Jayne would have time to kill _them_ for ruining his day before the Captain got to _him_. He reached the street level and darted into the alleyway before anyone else could see him; if he was going to do this, and stay alive long enough for Mal to murder him, he needed at least a half way thought out plan. Unfortunately, the Sherriff's deputies had apparently already decided on their plan of action and were advancing toward their prey with their weapons drawn- leaving Jayne absolutely _no_ time to plan his own actions.

Poking his head around the corner of the bar he watched them arguing with each other; totally oblivious to the danger that was stalking their way. Jayne quickly darted around the back of the building to get a better angle on the deputies.

"River, you can't just go running off by yourself; it's not safe!" The young doctor stared at his sister in exasperation, shaking her shoulder for good measure. He now knew what their parents- or in reality, their nannies- must have felt all those years ago trying to keep the two of them in line.

The young woman rolled her eyes at her brother, sighing at his complete over-protectiveness. The part of her brain that was still sane and coherent knew he was right; the last time she'd gone running off alone they'd both nearly been burned at the stake. The fear of that memory and anger at her brother crowded her mind, not allowing anyone else's thoughts or feelings to invade.

Not even the thoughts of the two Sheriff's deputies that were moving toward her and Simon, intent on turning them over to the Alliance.

Jayne crouched at the entrance to the alley way a plan quickly forming in his head; he needed to create enough of a distraction that the deputies would either forget about Simon and River or the two would figure out something was wrong and hightail it back to Serenity. Easier said than done considering he was also hoping to get away himself.

Deciding he'd rather not consider the ramifications of what he was about to do, the big mercenary launched himself from the shadow of the building, straight at the two deputies. He hit the smaller of the two men right at the hips, easily lifting the deputy onto his shoulder without breaking his stride. He felt the man stiffen in surprise when the air was forced from his lungs. Jayne's path carried him straight across the street and down the alley on the other side; he heard the order to freeze and felt the breeze as a bullet whizzed over his head. Either the other deputy was a fairly bad shot or he hadn't actually been aiming _at_ Jayne for fear of hitting his partner. The merc rounded the corner to a smaller back alleyway before he dropped the still-stunned deputy to his feet; he followed the move with a punishing blow to his right jaw which sent the other man crashing to the ground in an impressive fashion. He backed up to the building and listened to the rapidly approaching footsteps of the other deputy; gorram idiot wasn't even slowing down as he came around the corner. Jayne allowed himself a small smile, this was almost too easy; he stuck his arm out, clothes-lining the man and effectively laying him out next to his partner.

Unfortunately, the first deputy was quickly regaining coherence and cutting off Jayne's escape route. The big man rocked backwards, easily avoiding the wild swing thrown at him by the deputy and responded with a pair of solid jabs of his own; knocking the other man back to the ground. He drew back his elbow from the second jab just in time to catch a third man approaching him from behind.

Jayne whirled in surprise, he'd sensed that someone else was behind him, but he hadn't expected to find four more deputies behind him. _When in the __ruttin__' hell did the first two find time to __call for __backup?_

He raised an arm to ward off a right cross from the nearest deputy but was unprepared for the blow to the back of his head. Jayne dropped to his knees with a grunt but still managed to bring down one of the deputies with strategic foot sweep. The big mercenary was able to take out two more of the deputies before the batons came out; he'd always hated those things. Another grunt escaped when the first baton came into contact with his back but he maintained his feet as he struggled even harder; he didn't mind sacrificing a night with a good whore (well… not too much anyway) to keep the Tams out of Alliance hands but he wasn't about to land himself in jail for them. He blocked another blow, hearing as much as feeling the bones of his forearm crack and give way beneath the strain.

The still-standing participants of the fight continued to exchange blows, all the while trying to avoid tripping over those that lay unconscious around them. Jayne managed to hold his own against the three remaining deputies out of sheer willpower- apparently this Sherriff's department actually taught their people how to fight- and was only half surprised to find himself gaining the upper hand.

The second gunshot of the day echoed loudly through the empty alleyway.

**FIREFLY**

Three blocks away, Simon pulled up short at the sound of a second gunshot. The first shot had him nervous and he'd insisted that they make their way back to the ship, but the second shot actually scared him. His mind instantly began forming all manner of scenarios which would have the entire town in an uproar: riots, bank robberies, a military coup, etc.

"Come on river, it's getting to dangerous, we need to return to the ship, quickly."

River pouted slightly, she'd been having fun for once, but she knew he was right. She'd been trying to get a read on the situation since the first shot sounded; unfortunately the resulting fear in the people surrounding them was keeping her from making sense of anything that she was feeling. There was the barest hint of something familiar, but she just couldn't pull it away from the rest.

**FIREFLY**

Jayne released a bellow of pain as he collapsed to the ground, his leg instantly buckling from the force of the bullet. He'd now officially botched their upcoming job; Mal was so going to kill him. He amended that thought quickly when the leering face of a deputy entered his field of vision, the baton poised in mid-backswing; yes Mal was going to kill him, but only if the deputies didn't manage that particular feat first.

The deputy continued to hold his swing as he kneeled on the large man's chest, "Why?"

"Why what," Jayne growled deeply through cut and swollen lips, trying not to wince at the pressure the deputy was putting on his chest. His sarcasm earned him a kick to the ribs from one of the standing men. He shrugged off the blow and considered his options. He could try reaching for a weapon, but his left arm was refusing to work right and his right arm was trapped beneath the deputy's other knee. He could try to flip the other man off him, but the two pistols pointed at his head ensured that he would be dead long before he finished the move. It was then he decided that the only thing he could do was keep his mouth shut about the Doc and his feng la sister; if the deputies were this mad about starting a simple fight, he didn't want to think about what they'd do if they found out he was protecting the fugitives.

The deputy let more of his weight settle on the mercenary, "why'd you attack us."

"Dunno, felt like it."

Apparently that was the wrong answer. Jayne watched, mesmerized, as the deputy's arm began it swing towards his head; his world exploded into darkness the instant the baton impacted his temple.


	3. Chapter 3

**Shorter chapter this time, sorry; but PLEASE read and review.**

The bar was one of the more respectable (if you had a loose definition of respectable) ones to be found in town. The music wasn't too loud and the food was said to be decent; after being in the black for so long, none of them felt like being too picky.

Mal settled heavily into the hard-backed chair and tried his darndest to ignore Wash and Zoe being all cute and cuddly on the other side of the table. Kaylee slouched next to him and Mal could tell she was still pouting about Simon staying on the ship. He'd been off doing Captain-y things with Zoe when the doctor and his sister had rushed back to the ship earlier in the afternoon; according to the Sheppard, Simon had been very worked up while River merely appeared bored. Book had done his best to convince the younger man that the shots he'd heard were more than likely some random bit of violence that was in no way directed at them. Simon had calmed down considerably by the time Mal and Zoe had returned, but he was still refusing to leave the ship for the remainder of their stay on the planet; that suited Mal just fine, two less people to worry about.

The day had been uneventful, and the upcoming job appeared to promise more of the same, but Mal couldn't help but feel itchy. He really did prefer to be out in the black, there were to too many gorram things that could go wrong planet-side. That, and being in the black meant that Inara wasn't out servicing clients.

Wash finally detangled himself from Zoe as the drinks arrived, "Hey where's Jayne? Thought he was joining us tonight."

"Aw, you know Jayne, probably found himself a good whore; I'm thinkin' we won't see him 'til tomorrow morning." In truth, Kaylee wished the big man had joined them for dinner; he would have found a way to cheer her up. She knew that Jayne'd had a little crush on her since he'd joined the crew, but she also knew nothing would ever come of it. They teased and flirted but more like ge ge and mei mei than anything romantic; still, it felt good to get that kind of attention from someone as swai as Jayne, no matter how it was intended.

"Long as he ain't finding himself any trouble," Mal growled under his breath. He still hadn't forgiven Jayne for sleeping through that whole fiasco with the bounty hunter- or for Arial for that matter; as much as he hated to admit it, there probably wouldn't have been as many injuries had the big man been around.

"Hell sir, I don't think even Jayne's _that_ stupid; he knows you'd toss him in the airlock if he did anything to screw up tomorrow's job."

Wash stifled a snort, "you sure about that sugar lips? I mean this is Jayne we're talking about."

On the other side of town, Jayne slowly started to come around in the dark of a jail cell. He allowed a quiet groan but made no attempt to move as the afternoon's events came back to him. His leg was on fire, every inch of him ached like he'd fought off a hundred reavers, and the pounding in his head was really making him wish that he was still unconscious. The big merc rolled onto his side, breathing shallowly through his nose as he tried to ward off the sudden wave of nausea; damn but he hated broken ribs, weren't nothin' that could be done but wait for 'em to heal. He slowly reached a hand down toward his left leg, swearing weakly when he encountered a tacky wetness partway down his thigh; thankfully very little of the blood felt fresh.

Jayne's head pounded even harder as he began to contemplate the situation. Now thanks to that ruttin' doctor and his moon-brained sister, Jayne had not only given up a night with a _very_ promising whore, but more than likely the best job and the closest thing to friends that he'd ever had too. If the Sherriff were even offerin' bail on him, the chances that Mal would come for him were slim to nil.

The mercenary had never tried to kid himself, he knew how little the Captain and Zoe thought of him; they only kept him around for his guns. Up until Ariel he'd thought he'd managed to earn the slightest fraction of their trust; but now all he saw in their eyes was cold distain. It hadn't escaped his notice either that they never allowed him to be behind them in a fight or that he was never left on Serenity without at least one of them there to watch him. He'd put up with it because the pay was good- when they got paid- and because Kaylee, Book, and hell, even Wash actually seemed to enjoy spending time with him occasionally.

Hell, he could just imagine their reaction when they found out about this. Mal would blow his top, swearin' and pacin' the ship like he did when something was out of his control. Zoe would just cross her arms and glare in that way she had; Jayne had only even been afraid of two women in his life: his mother and Zoe. Both could be damn near as frightening as reavers when they thought you'd done something that weren't right. Simon and Inara would put on all kinds a haughty airs, muttering about rim-bred idiots and such to each other. Wash would probably make some crack about him just trying to keep the local law busy before the job and the girl would probably just stare at him upside down until he got all itchy.

But Kaylee and Book would be the worst, they'd give him those damning, disappointed looks; ruttin' things made him feel worse than getting yelled at did.

Course, he'd probably be able to avoid those looks if he told them why he done what he did, not that most of the crew would believe him anyway. Besides, he weren't even sure he wanted the crew thinkin' he was capable of doing something that moral and upstanding-like; might ruin that reputation he'd worked so hard to build up over the last eighteen months.

At least this way, he could tell himself that they hated who he pretended to be, not who he was.

Jayne shivered violently as the cold of the cement floor began to register through the thin material of his t-shirt and cargo pants. He tried to curl into a smaller ball but stopped immediately when every inch of his body protested the movement. He settled back down, wrapping his uninjured arm tightly around his broken ribs and resigning himself to the first of many long nights spent in a jail cell.


	4. Chapter 4

**I apologize for the short chapters, but hopefully it will make for quicker updates. Please continue to read and review.**

"Sir, why _are_ we bailing him out?"

The desert scenery flew by the mule's windshield as the two made their way toward town; the trailer bounced along behind them, Kaylee not having had the time to unhitch it before Mal had stormed into the cargo bay.

"Gorram merc's saved our asses more times than I'd like to count Zoe, wouldn't feel right if I didn't bail him out; even if I do kick his sorry _pe __gu_ off the ship immediately afterwards."

They moved as quickly as possible through the mid-morning bustle of the town streets; both wanting to get this chore over with as quickly as possible so that they could get back into the black. Like the majority of the other buildings in town, the Sheriff's office was a hastily constructed single story building of clay block. Mal's brow quirked at the thought that Jayne was imprisoned in a building made of mud that may very well have come from the town bearing his name. The front door opened directly into the Sheriff's office with what appeared to be a deputy's lounge off to one side and a hallway of cells off to the other.

Zoe craned her neck a bit to get a better look into the lounge where several men were sprawled out with a multitude of injuries between them. The former soldier shook her head in resignation; this did not bode well for Jayne.

A graying, portly man in his early fifties looked up from the desk when the duo walked in. "Ah, Captain Reynolds, here to collect your man?"

"That I am Sherriff. Mind tellin' me what my gorram merc got himself into this time so that I can properly chastise him once we're back on the boat?"

The Sheriff's polite smile disappeared instantly, "man attacked two of my deputies, then kept fightin' when four more of 'em showed up. I had to send three off them off to get patched up in the clinic last night; so you're paying their doctoring bills as well as his bail."

Zoe looked over to find the Captain clenching his jaw so hard she was sure it would shatter any second. Jayne really was more trouble than he was worth half the time; sure they'd have died several times over in deals gone bad if he hadn't been there, and he was right handy to have around when Mal started those bar brawls on unification day- and any other day he felt like it for that matter- or when they had heavy cargo to unload. Hell, the man was even good for a laugh more often than not, but was it worth all his rude behavior and bailing him outta jail all the time? Zoe stopped at that thought, realizing that this was the first time Jayne had ever landed himself in jail; she snorted, knowing the same couldn't be said for Mal and herself. She suddenly had to wonder why she had such a poor opinion of a man whose worth certainly seemed to out-weigh his faults since he'd joined the crew.

Unaware of his first mate's inner monolog, Mal clenched his jaw even tighter, pretending that it was his hands around Jayne's neck. "And how much would that all be costing me?"

"Three hundred platinum."

Mal swore silently as he reached into his pocket, it appeared that Jayne would be staying on for awhile. The merc now owed him a fair bit of coin and he knew that Jayne had sent most of his last cut off to his mother. How in the gorram hell could such a momma's boy- not that he'd ever call Jayne that to his face- cause so much trouble.

The lawman accepted the money almost gleefully; "right I'll take you to him, but 'less you can wake him up, you're going to need some help carrying him outta here. That hundan's heavy as an ox, built like one too."

Mal and Zoe shared a questioning look as they followed the rotund Sheriff down the row of dimly lit cells; could Jayne have gotten _that _drunk or was it possible that the deputies had actually been able to knock the big man out? Both shivered when the chill of the damp air leeched through their clothes. The Sheriff finally pulled out his keys as he approached the last cell.

Zoe peered into the cell and nearly flinched at what she saw there. There wasn't enough light to see Jayne properly, shadows tossed most of his body into relief, but the man actually looked _vulnerable._ Zoe hadn't even thought that was possible. The merc was curled tightly into himself, one arm wrapped tightly across his chest, and… was he shivering? She'd had seen the big man walk around in a t-shirt on ice planets without so much as a goose bump; this was not sitting right with her. Other injuries were obvious as well; the split lip and bloody nose had not been take care of, nor had his left wrist which was easily twice its normal size and very bruised.

"When was it he attacked your deputies," she asked with the barest trace of accusation.

"Yesterday around two I'd guess," the Sheriff shrugged slightly in apology, "I was busy seeing to my own men's needs."

Mal grunted in acknowledgement of the statement, just as it should be, man needed to see to his own above all else. But there was that nagging voice in the back of his head- sounded an awful lot like Kaylee- that was telling him that something weren't right about this whole mess. Brushing the thought aside, Mal leaned on the bars. "Jayne! Get your lazy _pe gu_ up and outta that cell, we got work that needs doin'," he ordered in his best 'captain-y' voice; the same one that had woke Jayne up from many a hangovers.

Apparently the voice was effective in bringing his merc back to a conscious state as well.

Jayne groaned quietly as he returned to the waking world; he cracked one eye open as far as it would go and looked straight at Mal. Forcing back his surprise that the Captain had actually come for him; Jayne heaved himself up onto his good arm and brought his right leg up underneath him. His left still trailed uselessly behind him feeling curiously numb. In fact, most of his body felt numb, a sensation that he would have found alarming if he had been able to focus on anything other than the sound of the blood pounding in his ears. His vision grayed and blurred as he pulled himself mostly upright, all his weight supported by his right leg and arm where he gripped the bars for dear life.

_"Wu de tyen ah!"_ Zoe's exclamation nearly drowned out Mal's murmur of '_ai ya'_.

Jayne was a mess. Blood covered the right side of his face and neck from a long gash at his temple, the rest of his face and arms were covered in bruises, the one eye that would opened blinked lazily at them uncomprehending of all but the most basic commands, his clothes were bloody and torn, and the fresh blood seeping through his pant leg glistened in the muted light.

The merc took a halting step forward before succumbing to the darkness and crashing headlong at their feet.

_Translations:_

_Pe__gu: _ass

_Wu de __tyen__ ah:_ Dear God in heaven

_Ai __ya: _damn!


	5. Chapter 5

The Sheriff shifted uneasily when twin looks of outrage were turned in his direction. Truth was, he'd had plenty of time to have the mercenary's injuries seen to- the doc had even offered to make a house call, but hadn't been much inclined to do so after he found out how much money the man had cost his office. The Alliance was offering a fair bit of coin for those two fugitives his men had been about to arrest. He hadn't taken the time to consider that the Captain might be a bit bent out of shape when he found his hired gun would be outta commission for a considerable span of time. "Like I said, had my own men to see to," he stated defensively.

Mal backed off somewhat, realizing that the last thing Jayne needed was for them to get tossed into the cell with him. He wasn't exactly the merc's biggest fan, but nobody deserved to be treated like this. Mal did his best to keep the growl out of his voice, "and I got mine to see to if you'd like to open the cell."

The Sheriff shot him an irritated look before unlocking the door in a slow, deliberate manner. "I get some of my men to help you haul him to your mule."

"Don't need any help."

Zoe nodded her head in agreement from where she knelt at Jayne's side tying a bandana around the bullet wound in his leg; the man was heavy as all hell and they'd have a job of a time getting him to the mule but she wasn't about the let those deputies within twenty feet of the mercenary again. She knew that binding the wound had to be painful but Jayne didn't even twitch. His other injuries needed seeing to as well but they would have to wait for Simon. Currently, her main concern was getting Jayne out of the jail cell and she figured Mal felt the same; she knew that the lawmen had thoroughly violated his sense of right and wrong.

Mal and Zoe each hefted a thick arm over their shoulders and moved out of the cell; even with the two ex-soldiers at full height, Jayne's knees were still nearly dragging on the ground. It took a great amount of effort, but they finally managed to settle Jayne onto the mule's trailer. Zoe allowed Mal the take the driver's seat while she straddled the mercenary's hips to keep him as stable as possible during the trip back to Serenity.

The trip was not easy on the mercenary. It appeared he might be starting to come around part way back and Zoe could hear him moan slightly ever time the trailer bounced at all. The big man looked even worse in the day light, sweat covered his face and dampened his t-shirt, and his bruises took on even more color making his pale face seem more drawn in the bright light.

The Captain's jaw was set in a firm line, his emotions warring with his morals in a supreme internal battle for control as they approached the ship. He wanted Jayne off the ship, didn't trust him not to sell them all out to the Alliance the first chance he got. But another, very miniscule, portion of him didn't cotton on what those men had done to the big mercenary; even if Jayne had started the fight, there was no excuse for leaving him in a cell, his wounds left untreated, for nearly a day.

Mal could see Book and River puttering around the cargo bay as they approached; he knew some of the crew was going to pitch a fit about this, Book being one of them.

The Sheppard looked up as he heard the mule approaching, surprised to see only two people on it as Kaylee had told him that the captain and Zoe had gone to bail Jayne out of jail. His heart beat faster when he caught sight of the third figure, prone and unmoving on the trailer beneath Zoe. He'd only seen Jayne laid out so completely once before, and that had taken a massive electrical shot and a spinal cord injury; the expression on Mal's face told him it was even worse than he thought.

"What happened?!"

Mal shook his head, "gorram idiot started a fight with the Sheriff's deputies; they fought back, and don't even get me started on that ruttin' piece of _go se_ they got for a Sheriff."

"We'll need Simon and a stretcher, Sheppard," Zoe stated, effectively cutting off Mal's tirade before he could pick up any steam. Not that she didn't agree with him, but she felt that the way Jayne was sweating and shaking was a more pressing issue than maligning the whole of the Sheriff's family tree.

Book caught the first mate's hint and headed for the infirmary. He paused briefly before starting up the stairs, "I think you're mistaken though Captain; Jayne only _finishes_ fights."

Mal stared after the Sheppard in confusion while Zoe busied herself tending to Jayne's leg, anything to keep her from having to look at his battered face any longer. She didn't want to feel sorry for him damn it, Jayne had brought this on himself; not to mention he'd cost them what would have been a very lucrative job. She was still mad at him, but the warrior in her couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't right.

"Ai ya!"

Simon froze in shocked silence, letting Wash's cry of surprise speak for him, before the doctor in him kicked in and he rushed toward Jayne's inert form. His practiced eyes scanned quickly over the merc's body before turning back to the duo still standing at the top of the stairs, "Wash, Jayne's going to need some blood; Kaylee please go help him get ready and get the infirmary situated." He knew that the little mechanic was probably a lot tougher than he was, but he couldn't help wanting to save her from seeing her friend like this up close; he hated that they were close but it wasn't his place to say anything, at least not yet.

Simon, Book, Mal and Zoe quickly but gently transferred Jayne to the stretcher and hefted him toward the infirmary. The doctor mental ran through the order of his treatment as they lay Jayne on the table; the first order of business was the bullet still stuck in Jayne's thigh, left untreated, Simon could see the infection that already festered in the wound.

Zoe stood in the doorway, watching as Wash was hooked up to the transfusion line; being O negative, he'd done this for nearly everyone on the ship, but that didn't mean she had to like it. Pondering Book's words, she turned to find Mal stand just behind her, a murderous expression darkening his face.

"He could have brought the Alliance straight to the ship with that stunt, gotten us all pinched." Mal's sense of honor may have been violated by what the Sheriff and his men had done to Jayne, but the merc's stupidity weighed even more heavily on his mind. "Part of me thinks that's what he meant to do; he ain't never took a liking to Simon or River… or the rest of us for that matter."

Zoe sagged slightly, the thought had crossed her mind too, but the Sheppard's comment about Jayne finishing fights just wouldn't leave her alone. "Sir, you ever seen Jayne _start_ a fight?"

"Course, lots of times," Mal responded without even thinking about it.

"No you ain't, Mal, because Jayne doesn't start fights." Mal and Zoe looked at the pilot in surprise. Wash had listened to the Captain and his wife slander the mercenary many times before without comment, but it just didn't seem right to let them do it to an injured man. "He told me once, we were drunk mind you, but he said he'd promised his Ma when he was ten that he'd never start a fist fight, and you _know_ how much he loves his Ma." Wash smirked, "apparently she had no problem with him participating long as he wasn't the one who'd started it."

"So what, he probably just got drunk enough that he forgot his promise."

"Mal, every story we hear, it's you or Zoe that started the fight, not Jayne." Kaylee turned a poisoned glare in their direction, "now if you ain't gonna do something that's actually helpful, go on and get the ruttin' hell outta here."

Mal balked at the language coming out of his little mechanic's mouth; not that he wasn't used to it, he'd just never had it directed at him before. He moved off intent on getting Serenity out into the black and his anger at the mercenary on the rise; since when had certain members of his crew come to defend Jayne against _him? _He was halfway through powering up when the Firefly class ship when he realized Inara's shuttle wasn't docked, she was still with her client. So, unless he wanted a very pissed off Companion on his hands- not that she'd ever use the words 'pissed off'- they were staying put until she returned.

Back in the infirmary, Kaylee watched Jayne shift restlessly and moan softly as Simon dug into his leg trying to remove the bullet that was lodged there. "Simon, you give him a smoother?"

The doctor looked up with a shamed expression on his face, "uh no, I thought he was too deeply unconscious to feel anything." The lie fell flat even in his own ears.

His shame grew as he remembered telling Jayne that he always did his best no matter who his patient was, apparently that had been a lie as well. But the man could have brought the law here, gotten River sent straight back to the academy and him tossed in jail. He turned back to his task as Kaylee grabbed a hypospray off the counter and quickly injected it into the injured man's neck. The disappointed stares from the others in the room were hard to ignore, especially those coming from Kaylee and surprisingly enough, River. He finished his work as quickly and efficiently as possible, not wanting to have those looks turned in his direction any longer than he had to, and fled the infirmary.

Jayne was strong; he didn't need Simon hovering over him like some nursemaid- at least that's what the doctor told himself.

Jayne seemed to have relaxed after the smoother, but Kaylee, Book, and Wash continued to putter around the infirmary for several minutes after Simon had left and River had disappeared in her usual fashion.

Wash finally cleared his throat, "you think he did it?"

"From the looks of him, I'd say he did, but I'm not sure that I believe the Sheriff's version of the events. And it is completely unconscionable that they didn't treat his injuries."

Kaylee re-wet the cloth before placing it back on Jayne's fevered forehead. "I think you're right Sheppard, but I guess we won't know anything until he wakes up." She rested a hand on the merc's bruised face intently watching for any sign that he would wake up and set the story straight.


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry everyone, this is another super short one, maybe some day I'll actually find time to write a real chapter. Thanks for the reviews and please continue to let me know what you think.**

The firefight was horrible to watch and he was helpless to stop it. They were caught completely by surprise and the Sheriff's men were well armed. Simon was the first to go down, the doctor's intentions of protecting his sister were noble, but the skills to back them up simply weren't there. Zoe and Wash were killed almost simultaneously when the pilot attempted to protect his beloved from a hail of bullets. Mercifully he only managed to stop half of them, leaving Zoe only a fraction of a second to feel the immense weight of her grief before she followed him into the afterlife. He tried yelling at Kaylee to keep her head down, but it was useless, no one could hear him; a strangled cry wedged in his throat when the bullet caught her square in the chest. Mal and Book continued to fight, neither willing to let the death of their friends and chosen family go un-avenged. Out of the corner of his eye he saw one of the deputies moving up towards Inara's shuttle unchallenged; he raced up the stairs after the man, arriving just in time to see the Companion fall to the floor, her sightless eyes staring straight through him. By the time he made it back down to the cargo bay, the entire ship was silent and still. The Captain and the Sheppard had fallen side by side defending their beloved ship to the last.

Jayne fell to his knees in the midst of the devastation, unable to comprehend what had happened but powerless to tear his eyes away.

He jumped back to his feet as a soft sob sounded behind him. There stood River, the sole survivor of the battle, her flowing dress and oversized sweater covered in her brother's blood. The lost look on her face touched his heart as nothing had in years. She was alone now, even more so than she had been at the Academy.

Her large liquid eyes took in his swaying form as they both stood in silence.

"I'm so sorry, River. It's all my fault, I thought I was saving you."

River simply walked toward him, her hand out stretched to brush the sweat-slicked hair from his marred forehead. Unfortunately it didn't seem to calm him and he continued to thrash weakly on the infirmary table. She knew she wasn't supposed to read crew, but Jayne's nightmares had reached her all the way in the passenger dorms. The first image that she'd seen was simply a memory of watching the deputies advance toward her and Simon, but the lines of physical and emotional pain continued to edge deeper into his chiseled face as the nightmares progressively got more horrifying.

"Thank you Jayne, thank you so much. You have done very well."

He had saved her and Simon and his only reward had been pain and ridicule. What made her even sadder was that she knew he had heard every nasty word that had been hurled at him since the Captain had bailed him out. She continued trying to comfort him, not able to shake the coil of despair that had tightened around her heart as his quiet moans and cries echoed off the empty infirmary walls.

Up on the bridge, Zoe approached Mal, knowing that he wasn't going to like what she was about to say. "Sir?"

The Captain looked up from his detailed inspection of Wash's Stegosaurus. "I'm kickin' him off soon as he makes enough to pay back his bail." His eyes dropped back to the plastic dinosaur, "only thing the hundan's good for is his guns."

Zoe winced, his last statement making what she was going to say even less appealing. "About that sir, you've got to go back to the Sheriff's office. We forgot to get his weapons when we bailed him out."

"No."

"Sir?"

"I'm not going back there Zoe, Jayne ain't worth it. And I don't aim to get myself thrown into jail for what I'm like to do to that Sheriff."

Zoe chewed on her lip briefly before trying again. "Mal, right now, we need those weapons as much, if not more than Jayne does. Besides, sooner he pays back that bail money, the sooner he's off the ship, and that's going to take longer if he has to pay for new guns."

The Captain dropped his gaze back to the dinosaur when Zoe finished; she _only_ used his first name when something really had to be done and he was being stubborn about it.

"Fine," he grunted after a moment of silence; he waited until Zoe had left to push himself upright and start for the cargo bay. He still didn't like the idea of going back to the Sheriff's office, but he wasn't about to give the man any added bonuses after what he'd done; and like it or not Jayne did need his weapons to keep the rest of them from getting killed. Stomping down the steps to the cargo bay actually made him feel better, helped bleed off some of his anger; Mal suddenly understood why Jayne enjoyed his weights and punching bag so much.

He froze mid-stride when he came level with the infirmary door; never in all his imagination would he have pictured the scene that played out in the small room. His tougher- and dumber- than nails merc was shaking and almost sobbing beneath the thin blanket that covered him, while his moon-brained teenage passenger lay lightly across the injured man's chest whispering soothing words of- _thanks_?

"River," he hissed harshly, "what in the gorram hell you think you're doing? Jayne's like to kill you if he wakes up and finds you there; shouldn't concern yourself with the likes of him anyways."

River looked at him with the closest thing to hate that he'd ever seen in her eyes before moving to slam the door shut in his face.


	7. Chapter 7

The image of River leaning over Jayne and the hateful look in her eyes haunted him all the way to the Sheriff's office. What in the ruttin' hell could she have seen in the mercenary's mind to change her attitude toward him so drastically; hell it'd only been a month ago that she'd threatened to kill him with her brain and only two weeks before that that she'd taken a knife to his chest. In fact, in the 6 months Simon and River had been on the ship, he didn't think he'd seen them voluntarily talk to each other let alone touch one another. And why was she_ thanking_ him? There were simply too many things about this entire fiasco that made absolutely no sense to him, not that much in his life ever did.

He pushed those thoughts from his mind as he dismounted the mule in front of the Sheriff's office and tried to focus on that Zen thing Inara was always going on about. He pushed open the door quickly and smirked when he heard a grunt of pain from the other side; he stepped around the door to see one of the already injured deputies trying to staunch the flow of blood from his nose.

"Sorry," he offered half-heartedly.

He wasn't in the least but the deputy was a man of the law and it didn't really pay to antagonize them; especially if he had any notions of performing any criminal activities on this planet anytime in the near future. If Jayne hadn't already ruined that for them.

Speaking of his soon to be ex-mercenary, it was nice to see that the man had inflicted some pretty substantial damage himself. The deputy standing in front of him sported several very visible bruises that weren't from his run in with the door, and a noticeable limp. Book had been right; Jayne always was good for finishing a fight. And as much as Mal hated to admit it, Kaylee and Wash had been right too, he hadn't ever seen Jayne actually throw the first punch in a fight. So why would he have done it this time?

The grey haired Sheriff was once again seated behind the desk, this time munching on what Mal hoped was an early dinner, but judging from the size of the man's midsection, was only a snack. Mal had to wonder when it was that the Sheriff had done any real peace-keeping duties.

"Back so soon, Captain Reynolds?"

"Here for my man's weapons," he answered tersely, not wanting to waste any extra words on the Sheriff.

The Sheriff pursed his lips in annoyance as he reached behind the desk. "Was hoping ya'll wouldn't remember them, they's some mighty fine pieces of armament. Would have gone a long way toward making up for all that coin your man lost us."

Mal cocked his head, not liking that statement, "thought all your doctoring bills were covered in his bail."

"They were, but the two deputies he attacked were about to make a very profitable arrest."

The cold ball of dread settled heavier in Mal's stomach, but he did his best to put on a pleasant face. "Really, who were they after? Do a bit of bounty hunting myself, might be worth my while to stick around for a few days."

"Well, seeing as we ain't seen hide nor hair of them since, so I suppose it can't hurt to tell you." He shot the Captain a dark look as if he didn't really agree with his own statement. "The Alliance is offering a good bit of coin for those siblings they've had a warrant on for awhile now. Brother and sister actually; what were their names, Thomas… Townsend… Travis.." The Sheriff had pulled out a stack of warrants and began flipping through them.

But Mal had stopped listening long ago; nestled within that stack he'd seen pictures of Wash and Kaylee and he could only guess that the ones for Jayne, Zoe, and himself were somewhere in the pile as well. His anger at Jayne flared; the man had come so close to getting them all pinched and delivered straight into Alliance hands.

"Tam! That was it, knew it started with a T."

Mal froze for a fraction of a second, before regaining his composure. "So," he started conversationally, "your men were thinkin' on trying to find those two."

"Hell no, they had them, or would have if your man hadn't chosen that moment to start a fight he couldn't finish."

And everything suddenly clicked.

The cold ball of dread currently residing in his stomach instantly turned to one of guilt. Jayne had been protecting the trouble-magnet siblings; just one more thing Mal would never have thought possible. And they had all immediately assumed the worst of the merc; actually, he corrected himself, he, Zoe and Simon had assumed the worst, the others seemed to take it for granted that there was something else going on.

Mal silently thanked every star in the 'verse that the Sheriff was a big enough idiot not to have connected the two incidents; he didn't even want to imagine what they would have done to Jayne if they'd realized that he had any connection to Simon and River.

The Captain looked at the weapons that had been laid on the desk- a pistol and two knives- as the Sheriff put the stack of warrents back down underneath it. His knuckles quickly turned white with the strain of not decking the Sheriff then and there.

"Where's the other pistol?"

The Sheriff didn't even bother to look guilty as he reached beneath the desk and pulled out the pistol that was never far from Jayne's hip or hand.

Mal snatched the beautiful gun and left the office without looking back.

The drive back to Serenity was a blur, Mal's mind was consumed with replaying every single thing he'd said and done since receiving the Sheriff's wave first thing that morning. Day wasn't even over yet and it was already in the running for one of the worst in the year- ok, so it'd been an eventful year, but defiantely one of the worst days this month.

And the worst was probably yet to come.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ok everyone, we're getting closer. Thanks for all your support so far and please keep reviewing.**

It was dusk by the time Mal returned to Serenity. He drove directly onto the ship and was not at all surprised to find the cargo bay empty; usually it was only Jayne and Book down there lifting weights anyway. Climbing the stairs, Mal had to wonder if his entire crew had simply disappeared; the ship was nearly as silent and still as he'd ever seen it. He quickly made his way to the engine room, finding Kaylee there tinkering with her girl.

"Where is everyone?"

The little mechanic looked up, grease smeared liberally over her face and forehead. "Well, Cap'n I ain't rightly sure where Sheppard Book is, but Zoe and Wash were on the bridge last I knew and River ran off the boat crying a bit ago so Simon went after her."

Mal paled considerably at that, the last thing they needed was for Simon and River to get themselves pinched after all Jayne had gone through to keep that from happening. He schooled his face back into an emotionless mask, not wanting to scare Kaylee.

"Kaylee girl, I need you to find them right quick. We're leaving, NOW."

Kaylee looked up again at the sharpness of Mal's last word; he was worried. "Mal?"

"Just please go find them Kaylee, I'll explain later."

She nodded and quickly slipped past him. Mal moved up toward the bridge of the ship in search of his pilot and first mate. He found them staring down each other from opposite sides of the room; apparently he and Zoe's instant condemnation of Jayne hadn't gone without consequence.

"Wash, get us the hell off this gorram planet as soon as Kaylee gets back with Simon and River. Zoe, head outside and help her look for them."

Zoe had been keeping Mal out of trouble long enough to know that look in his eyes; something had him spooked, and there was an underlying hint of something else there. She shared a quick compromising look with Wash before each turned to take care of their respective tasks.

Mal wondered the ship, lost in his thoughts and debating whether or not he should hide in his quarters until they were far out into the black. Five minutes later he found himself leaning on the infirmary doorframe without having a clue how he'd gotten there. The room was empty except for Jayne's mostly still form lying on the table. The merc still shifted restlessly beneath the thin blanket that covered him, but at least he seemed to be resting a bit more comfortably than the last time Mal had seen him. The hateful look on River's face still haunted him, even more so now that he knew why it had been there.

"When the hell'd you get so noble and upstanding-like," Mal whispered to the still unconscious man.

Up until a few hours ago, the Captain would have bet good money that Jayne would betray them in a heartbeat. But now, he'd not only saved the doctor and his sister from falling into Alliance hands, he'd given up one hell of a lot to do it. There was now only one major question racing around inside his brain; was this a new development in Jayne's nature, or had they simply been blind to it all along. He'd always sensed that there was more to his gun-hand than Jayne let on; no one could care that much about their family and still have the stone cold heart that Jayne had projected since he'd joined the crew. Not to mention the apparently close friendships he'd developed with Kaylee, Book, and Wash that Mal and Zoe had tried _so_ hard to ignore.

Mal had no idea how long he stood there in the infirmary doorframe staring at Jayne and pondering the mystery that was his mercenary before the almost inaudible groan broke his revelry. Jayne shifted slightly and stifled another groan; blue eyes blinked owlishly at him.

"Mal?"

The merc's voice was hoarse and cracked even with the single syllabled question. His panic rose as his semi-coherent brain took in the brooding look on the Captain's face; Jayne knew that as far as Mal was concerned, he'd just confirmed every uncharitable thought the Captain had ever had about him. And more than likely he'd be dumped off the boat on the first planet they came to, that's if Mal didn't flush him out the airlock first.

Mal knew he should say something, but the words 'thank you' were currently forming a very large lump in his throat.

"How's the patient?"

Mal jumped a good three feet at the sound of Simon's voice behind him. He turned back to the interior of the infirmary to point out that Jayne was finally awake and at least somewhat lucid, only to find that the patient had passed out once again but it appeared to be a peaceful sleep rather than the fevered unconsciousness that had claimed him for most of the day.

"He was awake for a second there."

Simon gave a non-committal grunt as he checked the big man's vitals. From the looks of the neat row of stitches and spectacular bruising emanating from his temple Jayne had taken an incredibly harsh blow to the head; the fact that he'd woken at all only confirmed Simon's theory that the merc's head must be made of wood or some other incredibly hard material. But his vitals were good and the infection in the bullet wound seemed to be under control now.

The doctor turned back to face Mal, "well, it looks like he'll live another day to turn River and I over to the authorities." He raised an eyebrow when Mal flinched as if he'd been shot, "what?"

"Nothing," Mal murmured.

An hour later, the crew was gathered in the lounge waiting on Mal. He hadn't given them a clue as to the reason for the meeting, but no one doubted that it had something to do with Jayne.

Finally, the Captain spoke, "Jayne did start that fight with the Sheriff's deputies." He held up a hand to forestall the outbursts of disbelief and gloating, he wasn't sure he wanted to hear either right now.

He took in the mixed looks of disappointment and vindication, before turning to look directly at Simon, "those particular deputies that he attacked were about thirty seconds away from arresting you and River."


	9. Chapter 9

Silence reigned after Mal's statement.

If he weren't already feeling so conflicted, Mal would have died laughing at Simon's reaction.

The young doctor looked like a fish out of water, his eyes bulging and his mouth opening and closing without sound. Confusion, fear and finally shame warred over his soft features; not only had he assumed the worst of Jayne, he had let it affect how he'd treated the man medically- something Simon had sworn would never happen.

He was oblivious to the accusing looks being sent his way by half the crew, too busy wallowing in his own shame at having broken his oath.

Suddenly, River could no long stand to be so close to her brother's selfish thoughts. Jayne had saved them, yet all her brother could focus on was his own shame at treating a _patient_ differently because of his personal feelings. The fact that the patient was Jayne hadn't even entered into the equation; and there was absolutely no hint of the gratitude that she felt should be there.

She threw him one last scathing look, "one day, you will see all that is there."

She made it to the door before Simon finally found his voice, "River?"

"The Protector should not be alone any longer," she stated quietly without turning around.

Book chuckled at the girl's new nickname for Jayne, sure that the big mercenary would simply_ love_ it. He wondered if the rest of the crew would realize how appropriate it was though. Whether they acknowledged it or not, every member of the crew had been saved by Jayne at least once since Book had joined the crew; and were he a betting man, he would wager that not one of them- save maybe River- knew how seriously Jayne took that responsibility.

"Well," he started as he stood from the beat up couch, "I think several of us have an apology to make."

"Us?"

The Sheppard turned to face his very confused Captain, "I may not have condemned Jayne as several of you did," he stopped long enough to give Mal, Zoe and Simon each a pointed look, "but neither did I defend him as strongly as I should have."

Inara chose that moment to enter the lounge, completely oblivious to the drama that had embroiled the crew that day. However, her companion instincts quickly picked up on the mix of emotions swirling around the room. "Well I apparently missed an eventful day."

"Jayne attacked two Sheriff's deputies that were about to arrest River and Simon; got himself pretty well beat up for his trouble."

"River's taken to calling him the Protector," Wash supplied helpfully.

Inara turned thoughtful for a minute, calming accepting the young women's judgment of the mercenary. "I can understand that."

The crew simply gaped at her.

"Jayne may be rude and uncouth, but his job and his family are the two things in life that he takes seriously; and as hard as he tries to fight it, Jayne considers all of us family."

"Well I like it," Kaylee announced brightly. "And I think River's right; Jayne is our protector."

They filtered out of the room one by one until only the first mate was left.

Zoe didn't like being wrong, especially when it came to reading people, but she was woman enough to admit it when she was. She'd spent the last eighteen months watching him so closely for any sign of betrayal that she'd missed the man he actually was. Not that he hadn't tried very hard to hide it; but in Zoe's book actions spoke louder than words, even if she hadn't noticed them at the time.

The ex-soldier knew she'd never treated the merc all that well, and no amount of words were going to change that. But her future actions just might and that's all she needed to know.

She would try to treat him better from now on.

Dinner was a quiet affair that night, the discontent still palpable between the crew but less so than it had been earlier in the day. River was noticeably absent, still too upset with her brother to spend any time in his presence. No one felt much like socializing afterword and they all quickly moved to their quarters; it had been a long day and a late dinner.

Mal tossed and turned for nearly an hour before growling in frustration; his body wanted sleep but his conscience had other ideas. He threw back to the covers with another muttered curse and pulled on some clothes. The ship was silent as he made his way to the infirmary, figuring he'd find it empty, but not really surprised to find River there either.

"Hey little Albatross, how's he doin'?"

River looked up, sensing his genuine interest and concern. "He continues to sleep, but the demons have gone."

Mal smiled indulgently, not really knowing what she meant, but figuring it was a good thing. "Why don't you get some sleep, 'tross, I'll keep him company for awhile."

River didn't bother reading him again, she knew that he needed this. She quickly gave up her place by Jayne's bedside, whispered one last 'thank you' in her protector's ear and headed for her own bed without another word.

Mal eyed the stool River had occupied but choose to lean against the counter instead feeling that it was more neutral ground. He eyed the sleeping man and suddenly realized that it would be awhile before they could pull any jobs that would require Jayne's help; even with the use of the bone menders, Jayne wouldn't get rid of those casts for a couple weeks. He knew the merc would be ready to tear that hip-to-ankle cast off his leg long before Simon said it was ok to come off; his recovery probably would have gone a lot smoother if the bullet hadn't fractured his femur. Yup, Jayne was going to be miserable for awhile; on the other hand, he knew the crew would do everything they could to make him as comfortable as possible considering how he'd come to be in this state.

Mal was brought from his thoughts as Jayne shifted slightly on the hard table.

The mercenary debated the pros and cons of opening his eyes, fearing that it would worsen the pounding in his head. Jayne had known he wasn't alone the second he woke up; but he was more than a little uneasy to find himself alone with Mal once again. Jayne had been lucid enough to know exactly what Mal thought of him getting himself pinched and why he'd done it. The two men stared at each other in silence for several minutes before Jayne cleared his throat.

"I'll pay you back the bail money soon as I get workin' again."

The Captain didn't miss the hopeful note in the merc's voice. "Don't bother." He cocked his head in confusion when Jayne's face fell; man looked like Mal had just killed his dog, his bruised features only making the effect that much worse. "It's the least we can do after you being all noble-like."

Jayne's heart dropped to his stomach; somehow they knew and he couldn't decide whether that was a good thing or not. At least Mal seemed willing to keep him on the crew now. The uncomfortable silence stretched on for a few minutes before Jayne spoke, "the others know?"

Mal nodded, trying to put the last couple seconds of thought into what he was going to say to his hired gun. "Look Jayne, I ain't going to apologize for thinkin' what I did; you ain't given me much call to think anything else before now." He stopped to take a deep breath and run a hand through his hair, "but I am going to say thank you. I know you don't care much for the Doctor and his sister, but don't neither of them deserve what the Alliance would have done to them. And there's a damn good chance they would have gotten the rest of us too; Sheriff had posters on all of us- how they didn't figure you is beyond me."

Jayne stared in shock at the Captain; he'd figured Mal would let him stay on if he found out why he'd gotten pinched, but he'd never expected a thank you from the man. The next words out of the other man's mouth shocked him even more.

"I'm going to try to work on that whole trust thing too, long as you don't give me no reason to regret it."

Jayne recovered enough to respond with a grateful nod, "I won't."

**Only one more chapter to go; it's time for Simon to pay the piper.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey all, I'm not really happy with the way this chapter turned out, but it took me long enough to write so it'll have to be good enough. Hope you enjoyed the story. Please review.**

Zoe leaned against the door frame watching Simon organize the infirmary for the fifth time that day.

Jayne had spent most of the day in a deep, healing sleep- his talk with Mal seeming to have done wonders for dispelling the horrifying dreams that had plagued the big man the day before. The rest of them had trickled in the few times Jayne had been awake throughout the day, thanking the merc for his sacrifice or in Kaylee's case simply fawning over the wounded man until he told her in no uncertain terms to 'leave him the ruttin hell alone'. The little mechanic had simply laughed at his growl, called him her big teddy bear, kissed him on the forehead and skipped out of the room.

Of course the growl had been better than his slack- jawed response to River calling him "the Protector".

The only member of the crew that had yet to speak to Jayne was Simon; he seemed to be conspicuously absent any time his patient was awake. Zoe knew River was still furious with her brother and it was starting to irritate her as well; someone does something nice for you, you say thank you and get on with life, you don't spend the next however long wallowing in self-pity.

Simon looked up from his task when Jayne's breathing hitched as he shifted slightly on the small medical bed; it was obvious that his splints (Simon wasn't exactly stupid enough to cast over an open wound) and injuries were making it difficult for the merc to get comfortable. The young doctor turned quickly to leave, spotting Zoe in the doorway for the first time.

"Going somewhere, Doctor?"

A guilty look flashed across Simon's face. " I, uh-"

"-need to stay here and say thank you to Jayne." Her irritation grew exponentially at the confused look that crossed the other man's face.

"For what?"

"Top three percent my ass."

Zoe cracked a small smile at her husband's muttered wise crack from behind her; she'd been thinking the exact same thing. The smile disappeared quickly, "Simon, if it weren't for Jayne, you're sorry _pe gu_ would rotting in a jail cell right now and River would be on her way back to the academy."

Simon froze as if the thought had never occurred to him, and it hadn't. He swayed suddenly as the enormity of the situation hit him head on, not resisting when Zoe pushed him down onto a stool. He'd been so caught up in his own shame that he'd barely comprehended a word Mal had said the night before. Jayne really had saved them, and paid a hefty price for it; spending the night on a cold, hard jail cell floor must have been torture with his injuries.

And Simon had only made things worse for the man.

He was pulled from his haze of thoughts as Jayne shifted again, this time waking enough to let out a low groan as the pain assaulted him. Simon was on his feet instantly, preparing another smoother to ease the merc's discomfort.

Jayne's blue eyes blinked open as Simon approached the bed. "Doc," he managed to croak out. He hoped that it didn't sound nearly as pitiful as it had in his own ears. He tried to sit up, quickly regretting the motion as pain flared through his entire body and the blanket slipped leaving him in nothing more than his boxer shorts; Jayne quickly sank back to the bed, gasping in pain.

"Easy Jayne, you're not up to moving around just yet; this will help." Simon injected the hypospray into the merc's exposed shoulder before leaning down to retrieve the blanket and cover Jayne's shivering form again. "How are you feeling?"

Jayne gave the doctor a look that clearly stated, 'and people think I'm stupid'. "Like _go se_, Doc. When do I get to get outta here?"

"Jayne, you haven't been coherent for more than ten minutes at a time, it will be a couple of days yet; and you're going to need to stay off that leg as much as possible even when I do release you."

The big merc closed his eyes and gave a soft grunt of acknowledgement, obviously not caring too much since the smoother had kicked in.

"Listen Jayne, I ah- look if it hadn't been for you- I just wanted to say-" Simon hated this, he never stuttered. He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to start again only to stop when he took in Jayne's closed eyes and even breathing. Well, the man did need his rest. "Thank you Jayne," finally whispered quietly.

"Just don't go gettin used to it," came the softly mumbled replied.

Getting over his initial startle, the Doctor allowed a small smile but decided not to call the injured man on his bluff. Simon trusted River's instincts, about people anyway, and if she felt Jayne was their protector, then Simon would take her word for it. "Well thank you all the same, and Jayne, I'm sorry, I never should-"

"Look Doc, I ain't so good with stuff like this. Think we could just forget it ever happened?"

'No' Simon answered silently, he wanted to learn from this. He didn't ever want to do something even remotely that selfish again. He'd felt comfortable taking the oath because he felt he was better than that; turned out he was human after all.

"Whatever you say… _Protector_."


End file.
